1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to inflatable type occupant restraint systems for use on the driver side of automotive and other vehicles wherein an air bag is inflated very quickly in the event of a collision to restrain and thereby protect the driver from injury that could result from being forcibly thrown against the steering wheel, dashboard, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Occupant restraint systems of the inflatable type for protecting the driver of an automotive vehicle are well known. Generally, such systems include a fluid source such as a pressurized stored gas, a solid propellant gas generator or a hybrid (a combination of the above). The fluid source may be mounted on the steering wheel or the steering column of the vehicle and is connected in communicating relation to the air bag to be inflated. A collision sensor for actuating the fluid source in response to the onset of a collision may be mounted adjacent thereto or at an appropriate remote location.
It is known in the prior art to embody a driver side occupant restraint system in a modular construction. A modular construction or module assembly is characterized by the ease of installation thereof in the vehicle and removal as a unit. The module assembly includes all of the major components required to provide an inflatable occupant restraint system including backup or reaction plate, a gas generator or inflator, an air bag in a folded, non-inflated condition for instant deployment in the event of a collision, and a cover or housing for the reaction plate, gas generator and the air bag. The cover is provided with an upper wall that is frangible, through which wall the air bag, when expanded, is deployed. For the attachment of the module assembly to the steering wheel, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,205 issued on Jun. 25, 1974 or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,306 issued on Mar. 26, 1991, typically a plurality of tabs or support plates connect the core of the steering wheel to the reaction plate.
Module assemblies and steering wheels to which they are to be attached are provided in a variety of different styles or ornamental arrangements for utilitarian, aesthetic or other reasons, as determined by the vehicle manufacturers. This has brought about inefficiencies in the use of production tooling and in the assembly procedures in the module manufacturing process. The elimination of such inefficiencies has given rise to a need for a simple and efficient means for attaching and securing to the different steering wheels each of the differently styled module assemblies while allowing the incorporation in the module assemblies of common major module components to reduce cost.
Thus, there exists a need and a demand for improvement in the means for attaching and securing to the steering wheels of automobiles or other vehicles differently styled driver module assemblies, while incorporating common components of the modules thereby to allow for the use of more common production tooling and enabling a reduction in the manufacturing cost. The present invention was devised to fill the technological gap that has existed in the art in these respects.